Wrongfully Convicted? Know Your Rights!

Police officers play the role of protecting human rights. Unfortunately, many cases are rising that police officers are committing misconduct. When such misconduct and abuse goes unchecked, this leads to wrongful convictions, which may lead to the loss of lives. People need transparency and accountability in police disciplinary records, which remain confidential. Without transparency, internal affairs departments may avoid disciplining illegal and unethical behavior; thus, harmful behaviors go uncorrected. So, the officers aren’t held accountable for their wrongdoing, which encourages them to continue with misconduct.

Compensating Wrongly Convicted

When the police officer is found guilty, the punishment will continue after incarceration. If found to have been wrongfully convicted via DNA testing, the defendant may spend over 14 years behind bars. This is because states have a responsibility to ensure they have restored the wrongfully convicted.

Compensation for Wrongfully Convicted

According to the civil rights attorneys at Friedman Levy in New York City, the wrongfully convicted may be proven innocent, but there is a difficulty in re-entering society. Again, when not compensated, that adds insult to their injury. Society should promptly provide compassionate assistance in different ways:

First, you may get monetary compensation depending on the minimum amount you served each year.

Secondly, provision of immediate services such as: helping secure affordable housing, financial support for basic needs, provision of medical or counseling services, assistance with education, and legal services.

Compensation after a Wrongful Conviction

In most cases, people are convicted of various crimes they didn’t commit. This becomes a serious problem while seeking compensation due to false conviction. At the initial stages, the prosecution attorney plays a significant role in proving the defendant is guilty. Once conviction occurs, you need to prove your innocence through a preponderance of the evidence. You, therefore, have to show that the defendant wronged you. This is because a preponderance of the evidence refers to specific evidence.

Completing Free Case Evaluation

A convicted person will not be presumed innocent. That’s because, by definition, they are presumed guilty, depending on their conviction. However, that makes it difficult to overturn the conviction because proving a crime didn’t happen will be more challenging than proving guilt. However, when wrongfully convicted but managed to prove you’re innocent using a preponderance of the evidence, you will get compensation. To get the compensation, some things must be true.

First, you need to prove in court you were wrongfully convicted. And secondly, you must claim for wrongful conviction two years after you were released from jail.

Contacting an Attorney

The essential step you should take before seeking compensation after a false accusation is getting help from a criminal defense attorney. You, therefore, need to hire a reliable attorney who can help to steer your claim in the right direction. Don’t go it alone! You have to try to prove your innocence with the help of an experienced representative who can help you get the compensation you deserve. If not, it will be challenging for you to prove such a conviction.

Conclusion

When you are wrongfully convicted, the sooner you get a lawyer on your case, the more likely you are to get significant compensation for damages. Get a lawyer today to win the case!